Connections Hints
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Words from the NYT Connections puzzle — September 9, 2026
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Show the word gridAll 16 words — you figure out the groups
Show the themesCategory names only, no words revealed
One word per groupTheme name + one word per category
Full solutionAll words and explanations
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Word grid
All 16 words, sorted alphabetically. Group them into four categories of four.
ARACHNOPHOBIA
BEWILDERING
BRUTE
ELECTROMAGNETIC
ESOTERIC
G
HALLOWEEN
INCOMPREHENSIBLE
IT
MICROBREWERY
MINIVAN
NANOTECHNOLOGY
OPAQUE
PICOSECOND
SAW
TASK
Themes
The four category names, easiest to hardest. No words revealed yet.
HARD TO UNDERSTANDStraightforward
WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXESModerate
HORROR MOVIESTricky
WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"Devious
One word per group
Theme name plus one word from each category.
HARD TO UNDERSTANDStraightforward
THESE WORDS ALL MEAN SOMETHING IS DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE TO GRASP MENTALLY+ 3 more…
WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXESModerate
EACH WORD CONTAINS A PREFIX MEANING TINY OR SMALL+ 3 more…
HORROR MOVIESTricky
THESE ARE ALL TITLES OF FAMOUS SCARY FILMS+ 3 more…
WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"Devious
ADD THE SAME WORD AFTER EACH OF THESE TO COMPLETE A COMMON PHRASE+ 3 more…
Full solution
HARD TO UNDERSTANDStraightforward
BEWILDERING,ESOTERIC,INCOMPREHENSIBLE,OPAQUE
BEWILDERING, ESOTERIC, INCOMPREHENSIBLE, and OPAQUE all describe something that is hard to understand or intellectually impenetrable
WORDS WITH "SMALL" PREFIXESModerate
MICROBREWERY,MINIVAN,NANOTECHNOLOGY,PICOSECOND
MICROBREWERY (micro-), MINIVAN (mini-), NANOTECHNOLOGY (nano-), and PICOSECOND (pico-) all begin with a prefix denoting a small unit or scale
HORROR MOVIESTricky
ARACHNOPHOBIA,HALLOWEEN,IT,SAW
ARACHNOPHOBIA, HALLOWEEN, IT, and SAW are all well-known horror movie titles
WORDS BEFORE "FORCE"Devious
BRUTE,ELECTROMAGNETIC,G,TASK
BRUTE, ELECTROMAGNETIC, G, and TASK can each precede FORCE to form BRUTE FORCE, ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE, G-FORCE, and TASK FORCE